Zak runs away from his care home to make his dream of becoming a wrestler come true. The Peanut Butter Falcon infuses its message of autonomy and risk-taking with a sense of magic – as Zak, a young man with Down Syndrome, escapes his dreary, constricting care home for freedom and adventure. As Zak (Zack Gottsagen)… Peanut Butter Falcon (London Film Festival 2019) Read More
Joker 4 stars
Gritty and grubby, garish and loud, violent and depressing, Joker is a blunt instrument of a movie – though it is a good movie. Joaquin Phoenix, as Batman’s future nemesis, is superb, his downward spiral inverted into an ascent to antihero status as Gotham seethes and then explodes. Joker has already got its own discourse…. Joker Read More
Don’t Let Go 2.5 stars
I’m sure most of us would like to alter our past to improve on our present. If I could, you’d be reading this in The Guardian, a paper that would no longer, once I’d gone back far enough with my red pen, be susceptible to typos. That’s assuming it all went to plan and my… Don’t Let Go Read More
Local Hero 4.5 stars
A Scottish fishing village. An American oil company. Bullied locals vs thoughtless big business. Local Hero looks as if it’s going to be a story about heavy-handed billionaires forcing idiosyncratic Northern villagers in chunky sweaters out of their birthright. Or it probably did in 1983, when it came out. Now the film has become part… Local Hero Read More
Ad Astra (kids’ review!) 5 stars
My mum reviews a lot of films but she didn’t know what antimatter was so after we saw Ad Astra at the cinema I had to explain it to her. Antimatter is the opposite of matter. It explodes when it touches matter which is why they want to use it to power spacecraft. NASA have… Ad Astra (kids’ review!) Read More
Ad Astra 5 stars
Warning, some spoilers: so if you don’t want to know there are killer space baboons, leave now. What if, instead of finding intelligent life out there, we have to accept we’re stuck with slightly dim life down here? The urge to push forward is strong, though it’s often exploration as a deflection, because there’s something… Ad Astra Read More
Downton Abbey – 1 Minute Video Review Includes Video 3 stars
Click here for my full Downton Abbey review (Warning: spoilers, though it’s not really the kind of film where it matters.)
Blink Of An Eye 3 stars
Racing driver Michael Waltrip has an extraordinary story: a run of 462 motor races without a win, followed by a huge victory in a race which also saw the death of his friend and mentor, the legendary driver Dale Earnhardt. Paul Taublieb’s documentary is based on Waltrip’s autobiography of the same name, and is mostly… Blink Of An Eye Read More
Downton Abbey 3 stars
Less one big plot than a series of minor inconveniences dressed up as one (though you could argue that for the rich, a minor inconvenience is a great big plot), the only internationally important event that takes place in Downton Abbey is then treated as a minor inconvenience. Sumptuous though the film is to look at, Julian… Downton Abbey Read More
Freaks 3.5 stars
Freaks is a neat little sci fi thriller, heavy on allegory but satisfyingly self-contained – answering all the questions it sets up. My life is a search for answers, though usually of the “is that chewed-up paper next to the dog my film notes or my son’s homework” variety, so it was gratifying to get… Freaks Read More
Shiny Shrimps 3.5 stars
The Shiny Shrimps, a comedy about a team of useless water polo players heading to the Gay Games, comes, um, warm on the heels of last year’s La Grand Bain (known as Sink Or Swim in the UK), about a useless men’s synchronised swimming team training for a championship, and Swimming With Men, a film about… Shiny Shrimps Read More
It Chapter Two 3 stars
A return to old haunts and a slaying of one’s demons; a fear that if they fail, heads will roll. It Chapter Two is one of the more obvious movie metaphors, though make your own minds up on the ongoing gag that the adult Bill Denbrough (James McAvoy), a famous author, is terrible at endings…. It Chapter Two Read More
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